The Effects of Exercise Regimens on Perceived Stress in First‐Year Medical Students

Abstract

Stress in medical students is higher than the general population and burnout among those in the healthcare field is becoming a rising concern. Exercise has been shown to decrease anxiety and stress via a role in the oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways and could contribute to combating the increase in burnout and stress among medical students. We hypothesized that there would be an inverse correlation between activity level and perceived stress among medical students. Exercise activity of first‐year medical students at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University were monitored using FitBits throughout the course of the academic year and the data were uploaded to Fitabase, a comprehensive data management platform. Data such as heart rate, steps, activity level, calories and distance were collected throughout the year. During baseline and exam weeks, participants filled out a standard psychometric questionnaire to assess perceived stress levels. Students were divided into two groups based off their resting heart rates: high activity (HA) level (resting HR less than and including 60 beats per minute) and low activity (LA) level (resting heart rate greater than 60 beats per minute). Students were also categorized into high, moderate, and low stress groups based off their perceived stress scores. Those in the HA group had lower self‐reported stress scores throughout the entire school year during the week of the exam than those in the LA category (p=.014). There was a significant correlation between steps taken during the block (pre‐exam) and steps taken the week of the exam in each of the system blocks (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the HA groups consistently increased steps taken the week of the exam while the LA group decreased steps taken. Our data also indicated that the HA group performed more “very active” activity per day than the LA group, while “fairly active” and “lightly activity” did not differ between groups. Our results suggest a strong relationship between higher activity levels and a reduced perceived stress levels throughout the first year of medical school.